The Third Analytic of Men
The Third Analytic of Men is a work by Ajencis, regarded by many to be his magnum opus. The Third Analytic interrogates the aspects of human nature that make knowledge possible, as well as the human weaknesses that make knowledge so difficult to attain. As Ajencis notes, "if all Men disagree on all matters, then most Men confuse deception for truth". He investigates the reasons, not only for deception in general, but for the erroneous sense of conviction that sustains it, giving what has come to be called the "selfish knower" thesis, the idea that convenience, conditioning, and appeal (as opposed to evidence and rational argumentation) are the primary motivation for the beliefs of the vast majorityEncyclopedic Glossary, p. 493, 'Third Analytic of Men, The'. Excerpts "If it is only after that we understand what has come before, then we understand nothing. Thus we shall define the soul as follows: that which precedes everything."The Darkness That Comes Before, Prologue, p. 1 "The world is a circle that possesses as many centers as it does men."The Darkness That Comes Before, Chapter 7, p. 194 "The proposition "I am the center" need never be uttered. It is the assumption upon which all certainty and all doubt turns."The Warrior-Prophet, Chapter 3, p. 41 "One can look into the future, or one can look at the future. The latter is by far the more instructive."The Warrior-Prophet, Chapter 9, p. 186 "Love is lust made meaningful. Hope is hunger made human."The Warrior-Prophet, Chapter 10, p. 202 "What is the meaning of a deluded life?"The Warrior-Prophet, Chapter 25, p. 588 "Death, in the strict sense, cannot be defined, for whatever predicate we, the living, attribute to it necessarily belongs to Life. This means that Death, as a category, behaves in a manner indistinguishable from the Infinite, and from God."The Thousandfold Thought, Chapter 12, p. 240 "When a man possesses the innocence of a child, we call him a fool. When a child possesses the cunning of a man, we call him an abomination. As with love, knowledge has its season."The Judging Eye, Prologue, p. 3 "The world is only as deep as we can see. This is why fools think themselves profound. This is why terror is the passion of revelation."The Judging Eye, Chapter 14, p. 296 "It is not so much the wisdom of the wise that saves us from the foolishness of the fools as it is the latter's inability to agree."The White-Luck Warrior, Chapter 2, p. 37 "Everything is concealed always. Nothing is more trite than a mask."The White-Luck Warrior, Chapter 6, p. 152 "Complexity begets ambiguity, which yields in all ways to prejudice and avarice. Complication does not so much defeat Men as arm them with fancy."The White-Luck Warrior, Chapter 8, p. 227 "Gods are epochal beings, not quite alive. Since the Now eludes them, they are forever divided. Sometimes nothing blinds souls more profoundly than the apprehension of the Whole. Men need recall this when they pray."The White-Luck Warrior, Chapter 13, p. 443 "Any fool can see the limits of seeing, but not even the wisest know the limits of knowing. Thus is ignorance rendered invisible, and are all Men made fools."The White-Luck Warrior, Chapter 14, p. 497 References Category:Written works